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@>pproved for release by NSA on 11-29-2011. Transparency Case# 6385J

Anglicisms in Puerto Rico*

BY 8RAD!ER RIVERA

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Discusses the infiuence of American English on the Spanish language in Puerto Rico as detected in total linguistic borrou;ing, semantic bor­rowing, and s.vntactical borrowing and provides examples of each cate­gory.

With advances in the means of communication, distances have nar­rowed, and this world appears to he getting increasingly smaller. Con-

. sequently, it is natUral that a constant language interchange has been occurring, and languages of highly developed nations are obviously influencing others. The influence of American English upon other lan­guages. because of the political and commercial predominance of the United States, should not surprise anyone. Many countries of Europe and Latin America have been flooded with American expressions. Names of manufactured commodities, movies, newspapers, maga­zines, books, foods and a variety of cultural expressions have been the subject of linguistic borrowing by these nations.

As examples one can mention Cuban radio broadcasts that have used words such as "average," "Palmolive," ·and "Colgate" with a Spanish pronunciation; in Mexico words such as perro caliente ("hot dog") and loncheria ("snack bar") are commonly heard; in Central America the word toronja ("grapefruit") is used for grapefruit with a thick skin, and the word greifru for a grapefruit with a thin skin.

lt is quite understandable that because of the political relations be­tween Puerto Rico and the United States the impact of English on Puerto Ricans has b€€n greater than on the people of any other Spanish­speaking country. A linguistic "laissez-faire" has existed there for a long time. Although schools and newspapers have actively encouraged correct use of Spanish in an effort to achieve a better instrument of communication, only the most undesirable borrowings have disap­peared, and what is more important, new ones have appeared. The influence of American English in Puerto Rico can be detected in three different types of anglicisms: total lin{?uistic borrowing, semantic bor­rowing, and syntactical borrowing.

•for this paper Mr. Rivera. won Second Prize in the 19il Crypto-Linguistic Associa­tion Essay Conte~t.

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TOTAL BORROWING

Total borrowing occurs when an English word is used in Spanish with more or less the same pronunciation. This type of borrowing is less harmful than other types and is usually non-permanent in those cases where the borrowing can be replaced by proper Spanish expressions. In some cases the borrowed expression has to be adopted when there is no Spanish equivalent or when the speaker does not know the valid Spanish expressions. This l;iappens mainly in names of new industrial products originating in the United States or England. Some examples of this include the following: ·

Sports Industries Foods baseball starter hamburger basketball wiper ·lunch volleyball mop punch home run payroll fruit cake knockout cold cream ice cream record flashlight pie standard folder sandwich catcher freezer popcorn field day hamper baking powder

Others are: scholar, boy scout, girl scout, acting, all right, all around, assembly hall, attorney, baby face, background, parking, bartender, beauty parlor, big shot, blind date, etc.

In some cases the total borrowing is preferred to the valid Spanish expressions:

En~lish Total Borrowing Correct Spanish flash light flash light lintema electrica girl scout girl scout nifla escucha beauty parlor beauty parlor salon de belleza blowout blowout revent6n deodorant deodorante desodorante drink drink tr ago research research in vestigaci6n rubber band rubber band liguilla clip clip pres ilia sampling ·sampling muestreo spark plug spark plug bujia special delivery special delivery entrega inmediata stencil stencil estarcido swimming pool swimming pool piscina weekend weekend fin de semana team team equipo, conjunto

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DOCID: 3927953 , English

two-way zipper

BRADIER RIVERA

Total Borrowing

two-way zipper

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Correct Spanish

bidireccional cremallera

Some English words are not readily accepted. For example, the words "irrigation" and · "suggestion," common in Mexico, are not usually heard in Puerto Rico. Riego +ihd sugerencia are used instead.

Total adapted borrowings (English wor.ds pronounced according lo native phonetic rules) ;elated to professions, industrial products and fashions are also commonly used, however. Examples:

Total Adapted English Borrowing Correct Spanish

dutch cloche embrague dribbling driblear driblar to drop out dropear darse de baja speedometer espidometro taquimetro,

velocimetro to indoctrinate indoCtrinar adoctrinar, inculcar to lunch lonchar almorzar nurse no rs a enfermera glamorous glamorooo encantador,

fascinador pioneer pionero explorador,

colonizador switeh suiche · interruptor to park parquear · estacionar to leak liquear goterear magazine magazm revista pamphlet panfieto folleto muffier mofle silenciador to train treinar entrenar trick trique truco, artificio

It is an accepted idea among scholars that anglicisms of the "total borrowing" type cause no harm to the mother tongue.

SEMANTIC BORROWING

In semantic borrowing the meaning of a Spanish word is altered or changed because of its similarity to an English word. The effect of this type of anglicism is more harmful to the native language than total linguistic borrowing, since it is hard to detect. It looks like a

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Spanish word. For example, the Spanish word romance is given the English meaning of ''romance" which actually means idilio in Spanish. In other words. the semantic boundary of the Spanish word romance has been altered or changed. This Spanish word romance means variously "language" (adjective), "Spanish language;'' "octosyllabic verse," "narrative poem" and "to speak plainly" (hablar en romance). It never means, however, "love affair'' or "romance" when it is properly used. Other examples include:

English Semantic Spanish Intended . Meaning Borrowing Meaning application aplicaci6n solicitud appropriation apropiaci6n asignaci6n block bloque manzana copy copia ejemplar to finance financiar cos tear gang ganga pandilla interference interferencia intervene ion to report (for duty) reportarse presentarse,

comparecer to report (an event) reportar informar rubber band gomita liguilla audience audiencia auditorio authority autoridad corporaci6n publica explode explotar estallar

The point of view of some scholars is that natural linguistic renova­tion cannot be stopped, but they condemn a "laissez-faire" attitude on the part of the speaker, since it is harmful to the native language; however, they consider purism to excess to be harmful as well.

SYNTACTICAL BORROWING

The hardest type of borrowing to detect, arid one that is very harm­ful to the Spanish language, is syntactical borrowing. This may be recognized by the use of Spanish words in an English sentence struc­ture. It is also hard to avoid, considering the great number of American newspapers and magazines read in Puerto Rico. All Puerto Rican newspapers derive most of their information froi:n English-language sources; translations and adaptations are done in a hurry and not always by the most competent translators. As a result, obviously, syntactical anglicisms are constantly printed.

There ar_e other reasons, of course: for example, the commercial relations of Puerto Rico are strictly with American enterprises, with the result that a great number of English syntactical expressions are

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"digested" through commercial letters. Furthermore, a great number of Puerto Ricans attend American universities, and movement of people between Puerto Rico and the United States is on a large scale.

Since this type of anglicism occurs primarily in industrial, com­mercial and professional terminology, it is not as common among the non-educated Puerto Rican of the rural areas. The most common examples are the following:

· 1. Excessive use of personal pronouns

English I run you run he runs

Anglicism Normal Spanish . yo corro corro tu corres corres el corre corre

In Spanish personal pronoun subjects are not included as frequently as in English or French. Contrast the following sentences, meaning "We are in San Juan":

Anglicism: Nostros nos encontramos en San Juan. Preferred: Nos encontramos en San Juan.

2. Misplacement of the adverb between the auxiliary and the main vub ·

For example, for the meaning "He has cordially invited his friend":

Anglicism: El ha cordialmente invitado a su amigo. Preferred: .El ha invitado cordialmente a su amigo.

3. Excessive use of the "ing" /Orm (gerund)

In English the present progressive form is very common, but in

Spanish the gerund has limited uses. For example:

. English they are having we are including

we have been giving

4. Miscellaneous

Anglicism estan teniendo le estamos inclu­yendo hemos estado dando

Correct Spanish tienen le inclulmos

hemosdado

Other incorrect literal adaptations are widely used in the press, radio, television and class rooms. Some of these are:

. English take action in linewith this

Anglicism tomar acci6n en 11nea con esto

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Correct Spanish tomar medidas en armonfa con esto

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English

establishing opposition on or before the 15th I believe that is a necessity

ANGLICISMS

Anglicism Correct Spanish

estableciendo oponiendose oposici6n en o antes de! 15 no mas tarde de! 15 siento que es de creo que es· necesario necesidad

The situation in Puerto Rico is not unique. That island is more ex­posed to English influence than any otherSpanish-speaking country, but when the Spanish Language Academy accepts words such as crol (from "crawl"), craquear (from "crack"), fiirtear or fiirteo (from "flirt"), filme (from "film"), boicotear (from "boycott"), among others, it is a clear sign that such an influence is affecting other Spanish-speaking countries as well.

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